


Black Lines

by Sophisticated_Adult



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Alternate Universe, Because that's what this is, Forte swears a lot, Gen, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, because i am into that, bringing the tag back for chapter 2, is there a tag/name for 'x and zero are active in classic', they're tiny babies and it's adorable as heck my dude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2018-12-22 06:34:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11961735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sophisticated_Adult/pseuds/Sophisticated_Adult
Summary: Robots don't get the marks that tell them who their soulmate is. Most people take that to mean robots don't have souls. Honestly, Forte's glad he doesn't have to deal with that garbage anyway.Then Zero upends the whole thing without meaning to, because of course he does.





	1. X Marks The Spot

**Author's Note:**

> So in addition to [X as the Light family baby](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4811486), I _also_ love 'every single one of Zero's five thousand brothers adores him and thinks he's great.' Guys, he's actually competent!! He might achieve something!!!

Forte can't help but be viciously smug when, out of the entirety of Skull Fortress – _including_ the doctor – it's _him_ Zero comes to when he has a problem.

Okay, so this is the first time it's ever happened, but Forte doesn't have a lot going for him right now and he'll take what he can get.

“It just showed up this morning,” Zero says, holding down his t-shirt to show off his left shoulder. “I couldn't wash it off.”

“Huh.” Forte peers at the black lines slashed across each other, forming an _X._ While there are plenty of Robot Masters stupid enough to try a prank like this with paint or permanent markers, pretty much all of them adore their newest brother as much as Forte does. Zero is two weeks old and he's brilliant. He's going to change the world, all of them know it. Forte's at a loss, and says as such.

“Fu – da – hecked if I know.” He shrugs. “I'll ask some questions, but I doubt it's one of us.”

Zero shrugs back. “It's not really a big deal, I guess.” In that movement, where the black _X_ follows his synthetic skin ('fake' hardly does the stuff justice) and settles down, it hits Forte, but he dismisses it just as quickly. Robots don't get that stuff – it's strictly a human thing, and they're so dumb about it in the TV shows that frankly Forte's glad he doesn't have to deal with all the soulmate bullshit.

What kind of a name is X, anyway? He thinks back to the stolen blueprints that lead to Zero's existence, but surely that was a code name or a working title. There's no way.

“Whatever.” He straightens up. “C'mon, there's gotta be a crowd forming by now.” At this point there's a waiting list and arguments over which Robot Master Zero gets to beat into the ground in the makeshift training arena they'd put together for him in one of the lower floors of the Fortress. Favours and work shifts are traded off to jump ahead in the queue. This place hasn't been so lively in _years_.

And yet it's none of them but him that Zero smiles at when he drops the shirt back and calls his armour together.

“Okay.”

Forte claps his hand on Zero's shoulder, feeling inexplicably better now the _X_ is out of sight.

Pfeh. He's clearly the favourite. Who even needs a soulmate?

\---

Zero was an early riser, but Dr. Light had gotten up earlier to run the final checks and start the boot-up sequence, overriding twelve warnings, inputting three passwords, and undergoing a fingerprint and iris scan at the last stage. He would not be careless. Not after what had already happened.

He blinked away from the scanner and was given the all-clear. He looked down, smiling as power began to flow into his newest creation.

X had his helmet on so the good Doctor didn't see the mark form, but it formed all the same, writing itself into existence just as green eyes snapped open.

(Later, when X took his helmet off to peer at himself in the mirror for the first time, he was very confused at Roll's shriek of joy when she saw the name written across his forehead, even if no-one in the house knew who Zero was).


	2. Treasure Hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens when I try to write Blues a little, a character I'm not overly fond of: my computer resets itself and I have to start the whole thing over again even though I saved beforehand
> 
> thanks, guy

It was his day off. Forte had a Reputation that on his days off he did _not_ want to be disturbed, short of a Lightbot invasion or the actual end of the world. He shamelessly spent his time in bed, embracing the cold darkness of the void that was a robot's equivalent of sleep, at least until someone came and yelled at him that he needed to do something or Gospel whined at him, whichever came first. He either didn't get enough sleep (when it was busy) or slept too much (when it wasn't) and either way he figured his body appreciated the day-long crashes. So he was therefore highly unamused when a low growl from Gospel indicated an unwelcome visitor. To be fair, he thought groggily as his systems booted up, it wasn't like he'd told Zero about this particular arrangement.

“Easy, there.”

What the actual _fuck_. Urgency shot through his systems and Forte flailed in the sheets, getting his legs tangled as he recalled his armour at the same time, because _what the fuck was Blues doing in his fucking room_.

“What the fuck!” He blurted as he finally got upright. Blues was already doing that fucking smirk, the one that Forte hated _so much_. Really, it was a blessing that Rock didn't take after him. Smug asshole bastard who always acted like he had all the cards and was five steps ahead of you. Forte could hardly believe he was technically related to the guy. That he was to Blues what Zero was to _him_. The thought made him want to die inside.

“Morning,” Blues said, stepping back lightly as Gospel's growl rose to a higher pitch; at this point he was just waiting for the word, and might not have all the patience to wait that long if Forte left it and Blues continued being a prick. ( _“Easy, there.”_ Any human that said that to Gospel would be looking at getting disembowelled in short order). Forte's buster whirring to life and promptly being pointed at his head didn't seem to phase Blues too much.

“I've just got a simple question, and then I'll go.” 

“Right, sure, that's reasonable.” Forte really hoped his glare did justice to the hatred seeping through him. On top of everything else, it was a goddamned crime to wake a guy up on his day off like this. Blues backed off a few more steps, giving himself the window as an escape route. While the stupid sunglasses meant Forte couldn't see exactly where he was looking, it looked like Blues was more keeping an eye on Gospel than the fully-charged buster ready and waiting to go at point-blank range. Despite Forte's feelings on the matter, dearest big brother ( _ugh_ ) wasn't actually an idiot. Shame. “What's your dumb question?” Forte growled out.

“Who's Zero?”

The world stopped, just for a second. “No idea. Get out of my fucking room!” 

“Alright. Thanks.” Blues hefted himself out with one hand just as Gospel shot forward; Forte followed to the window. He was somehow already down to the ground and Forte fired off a few shots, not really aiming very hard but one caught his shoulder, at least, and that was good enough for him.

“Fucking _asshole_.” Forte grumbled, watching the red-and-yellow figure dive behind the rubble surrounding the Fortress. (How hadn't he triggered _any_ of the security systems? Surely they weren't _that_ useless). Gospel made a low noise of agreement in his throat. Forte liked to think he'd recovered quickly to the unexpected question, but the quick retreat meant that maybe he'd given the answer away without meaning to.

Whatever. None of this was his problem. He disengaged his armour again, back in his ragged sleeping clothes, and crawled back into bed. He kicked the sheets around and turned his pillow until he was comfortable, then after a pause there was a low huff and Gospel decided he wanted to be on the bed, too, and Forte scooted himself to the wall to give the big guy space.

“Don't you give me that look, 's not like you ripped his leg off or somethin' neither,” he protested as Gos looked at him reproachfully. “You goin' soft on me, boy?”

Gospel gave a whuff of warm breath and settled down. “Ya mutt,” Forte said fondly, reaching out to scratch behind his hears. Maybe he ought to be worried that Blues was apparently searching for Zero and had already sussed that he was a Wilybot, but hell, he was pretty sure that Zero could kick Blues' ass, no problem. The only thing Forte would have to be sorry about was if he missed the show.

“Don' wake m'up less'z nessszry.” He was out before his head hit the pillow.

\---

Later on that day, Zero had some rare time to himself where he had nothing scheduled, and he was using it to explore. Sure, he had a map of the whole place in his head, but that was different from actually being there physically. He knew to keep out of the very bottom and the very top levels, where automated guards, spike traps and any Robot Masters particularly out of favour with their father lay in wait for intruders. He also wasn't going to go poking into anyone's quarters, because that was rude and privacy was at a premium for his brothers, but he was happy enough to just see what he could see. Sure, this deserted corridor looked no different than the others – he'd come pretty far and wasn't sure this part of the Fortress was even being used for anything – but now at least he could know he'd seen it for himself. He was debating on whether to turn back, because this whole place really seemed like it had just been left and forgotten, when a voice spoke out from behind and above him:

“Hey there.”

Zero spun around and danced back a few steps, buster at the ready. A robot dropped from the ceiling. It was red and grey and had a yellow scarf (the same yellow as his own hair, the distant part of Zero that noticed these things realised) and wore sunglasses. “You must be Zero, am I right?” He straightened up. He was tall, for a robot, but still a little smaller than Zero.

Zero's buster whined as it went from a regular shot to a charged shot. “Hey, hey.” The stranger put his hands up in an open, placating manner. “You'd shoot your own brother?”

That was the magic word. Zero hesitated. He knew his brothers, every last one – and Splash Woman, of course – and he had no idea who this guy was. He backed another step up before asking: “Who are you?” Then: “You're not a Robot Master.” The stranger gave a soft chuckle. “No. I'm not. I was a little...before all that.”

“Prove it,” Zero demanded, and held out his other hand. All Wilybots held their creator's signature; if this guy didn't have it, he could blast away in peace.

“Manners,” the robot lightly chided, but he copied Zero's action. Their fingers brushed, just slightly enough to exchange basic ID info, and Zero could hardly believe what he was seeing when he quickly accessed it.

DWN-000: Proto Man.

“I prefer to go by Blues,” the robot said, taking his hand away. “Huh. He really gave you that serial? Yikes. No pressure. Hey, are you all right? You look pretty shook up.”

“I'm – fine.” Zero shook his head. But it was a lie – not a huge one, but a lie nonetheless, as his whole world shifted under his feet, almost enough to put him off balance. 

What else wasn't he being told?

“Well, I'll cut to the chase. The reason I'm here is that I think there's someone you want to meet. Am I right?”

Zero looked blank. He had no idea what the guy was talking about. Blues sighed. “Look, does the name X mean anything to you or not?”

Everything stopped as it clicked into place. He'd never thought of it as a _name_ before. His shoulder ached where the new skin had yet to heal over completely, a remnant from an earlier session with his father, frustrated, trying his best to remove the offending black mark - cutting the skin out and replacing it, slicing into it, burning it; still, it remained. (Zero was shut down at the time, of course, but he still had the log of what had happened while he was out).

X. X was a _person_. It sounded so right.

“Ah. That look's telling me yes.” Blues' mouth lifted up in a knowing smirk. “You interested?”

Zero's head jerked in a fierce nod. There was no other option. Blues held his hand out again, and when Zero unhesitatingly took it they both vanished in white light.

\---

Zero was a little disorientated on landing, unused yet to teleportation. He had more or less free rein of the Fortress, but was discouraged from going outside until the time came, whatever that was. An alert pinged as he found his feet again, causing him to frown in confusion: 'installation complete'. 

“That's me,” Blues explained, taking his hand away. “Just some insurance. I do _not_ want you attacking _anyone_ out here, whatever the reason, do you understand?”

Up to now Zero was fairly easygoing by nature, practically being a celebrity in his own home and rarely if ever directly challenged on any subject, but now his hackles rose. Blues had somehow managed to install the little program mid-teleport, and it disabled his buster, the boosters on his feet, and even threat detection and assessment. He'd never been without them in his life, and the sudden deprivation was like being lost in his own body.

“You-” words became a snarl as he lunged, but Blues had already put enough distance between them to be able to anticipate it, grabbing at both Zero's wrists and forcing them down.

“There is a reason you came here,” Blues snapped. Something within Zero responded to the steel authority in that voice, stalling the kick he would have lashed out with otherwise. “Or do you want to go home and forget this happened?”

There was a long stare-off, Blues' sunglasses offering little clues to his expression, but Zero remained still throughout it. Eventually, his head lowered in submission.

“Good.” Blues released him. “You can't blame me for not wanting my family to get murdered.”

What? Zero blinked as he followed Blues down a grassy hill, but quickly dismissed it in favour of turning his head in all directions to take in everything there was to see in a rare trip outside. There was a city some distance away on the horizon. Blues ignored it and headed down to a squat grey building that looked little more than a steel container. Another robot met them at the entrance; this one was small and blue and hurried the last few steps towards them.

“This the guy?” the newcomer looked Zero over critically. Despite the round, innocent face and the fact that he barely came up to Zero's waist, something about him seemed to warn _do not mess with_. Zero itched for his lost threat assessment, immensely curious as to what the exact readout would be – but that wasn't why he was here.

“He checks out,” Blues replied. 

“Right. Well. I'm Rock. I'm hoping that this all works out and then we can get to know each other better. I'll just be honest and say I'm super stressed right now, so-” he shook his head and opened the heavy door one-handed. “Sorry. He's through there.” Rock indicated the entrance. “Please don't give us a reason to come back in there.”

Zero had no idea what he was supposed to say to any of that, so he just nodded and did as he was told.

\---

“You OK?”

“Roll's gonna kill us so bad if this goes wrong,” Rock whispered as he took his post on one side of the door, unable to divert more than 60% of his attention away from the comm channel X was supposed to ping immediately if there was any danger. They'd be face-to-face right _now_. X could need them at any minute. He'd managed to keep his buster away while speaking to Zero as a friendly gesture, but he'd formed it the moment that blond hair had swished inside and left the two of them to ease the door almost shut and stand guard.

Blues leaned on the other side, arms folded, outwardly nonchalant. His inner thoughts ran as such: at least that meant Rock thought they had a good chance of getting out alive in order for Roll to kill them later, if things did in fact go wrong. Even with his power brutally cut down, even if Blues could now send an electric shock with a certain lift and twist of his finger thanks to the little program he'd installed earlier, the prospect of an actual fight with Wily's newest creation was still terrifying.

Blues chuckled. “Yeah? I'll keep the scan data I got off him to myself, then. Wouldn't want you to lose that perky optimism of yours.”

“Huh?” Not being privy to his brother's reasoning, Rock was just confused. “I am the opposite of perky right now, I don't need your help in losing it,” he said, gesturing with his buster arm. “He's a Wilybot!”

Blues could only agree. But despite the obvious downsides, the million things that could go wrong, all of them wanted it to work. Hell, Blues had been the one to start tracking down this Zero in the first place; it was only when Roll figured out what he was doing and demanded in on the soulmate-hunting action that an actual plan began to form and Rock was drafted in.

X deserved it. Their quiet, polite little brother – well, he wasn't little, he was taller than Blues and almost apologetic about it – was barely two weeks old, and already a fierce protectiveness had formed in all of them, and Roll insisted, _insisted_ that they had to at least _try_. It was hard at the best of times to look her directly in the eyes and say 'no'; on this subject, neither of them stood a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and yes technically according to the wiki Blues' serial is DLN rather than DWN but I really don't see why he can't have both? Anyway, the rules around here are It's My Fanfic And I Can Do What I Want, so there.
> 
> also, also according to the wiki Zero's DWN serial is the fucking infinity symbol and boy howdy I had some Feelings about that (and also what the actual fuck, Wily, that's amazingly extra I love it never change). 
> 
> anyway here's the characterisations for 'being a big bro/sis' I've settled on for the classic guys that I'm happy with for this fic:
> 
> Forte: occasionally puts mild effort into attempting to try, sometimes  
> Rock: I don't know what I'm doing I wasn't built for this, help, is there a manual??????  
> Blues: heh, *put shades on over the shades he's already wearing* get on my level, nerds  
> Actual MVP Roll: I will be THE MOST SUPPORTIVE!!!!!


End file.
